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Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard (ne Pollock) is a lo ng running character in Emmerdale, having appeared continuously since 1986. He first appeared in Episode 1088 (30th September 1986). He has lied and swindled his way all through his life and has conned virtually every resident of Emmerdale since his arrival, and has been a very ruthless villain. He has mellowed in recent years. He now runs the B&B in Main Street. After Alan Turner left in early June 2013 due to the sad death of the actor Richard Thorp, Eric Pollard is now the shows longest serving current continuous character, having been in the show for 30 years. He is still in the show as of 2016 and is played by veteran actor Chris Chittell. As of July 2016 Chris Chittell is now the longest serving cast member still in the show. Backstory Eric Charles Pollock was born on the 11th June 1945. As a child he was nicknamed "Pansy Pollard". He married his first wife Eileen in 1964 aged 19. He left her then remarried having never divorced Eileen. He changed his name to Pollard. In 1981 he had an affair with Lydia Holloway. Eric left Lydia when she was pregnant and stole £20'000 from her. He never knew she was pregnant at the time. A son, David was born on the 17th September 1982. Lydia later remarried. Eric never knew he had a son for the next 24 years. 1986-1992 'Arrival in Beckindale' Eric arrived in Beckindale in September 1986 as the new boss of Sandie Merrick. He was the auctineer at Hotten Cattle Market. He proved himself to be very unpopular and him and Sandie crossed swords. In 1987 he lost his position as manager of Hotten Market thanks to Sandie Merrick. Joe Sugden had dismissed him. Sandie found that he was fiddling the accounts and told Joe, who sacked Eric. Eric launched a hate campaign against Sandie by slashing her boyfriend Phil Pearce's tyres and breaking into Mill Cottage, where she and Phil lived. In late April 1987, Eric again broke into Mill Cottage one night and threatened Sandie with a poker whilst drunk, saying she has ruined his life. He however then gave her a sob story and she drove him home. In June 1987 he befriended Marian Rosettii nee Wilks and her husband Paolo Rosetti and tried to burgle his house, of which Paolo chased him. Paolo accidentally shot himself with a gun but never knew it was Eric who was the thief. Once Eric found out Paolo had been taken to hopsital after being shot, Eric left Beckindale for a few months. When he returned, he made advances on Dolly Skilbeck. In April 1988, Eric applied for his old job as an auctioneer but lost out to Sandie Merrick, startng another feud. In May 1988 him and Phil Pearce sold fake antiques to people and then they blackmailed Nick Bates after he said he had taken some of the money which was dropped by two robbers in a robbery on the post office. In 1991 Eric set his sights on the Mill but lost out to Kathy Merrick. When Kathy wed Chris Tate Frank bought the Mill for them. Eric then set his sights on Elizabeth Feldmann. She thought she had changed him from his corrupt sort and they wed at Beckindale church in Episode 1701 (6th October 1992). Elizabeth's son Michael was disapproving of his new stepfather. 1992-2008 In 1993 Eric committed cheque fraud and framed Michael. Also he stole a Roman bracelet. Elizabeth soon found out about her husbands deception. She then realised what a swine she married. At the end of December 1993, Elizabeth said she was going to the police to tell all about the cheque fraud and knew that she would go down for having knowledge on the crime but said it would be worth it to see Eric go down. She also claimed she knew about the stolen Roman bracelet. She went round to Demdyke Row to babysit her granddaughter Alica Bates and was later pursued by Pollard. He then said he had been going through her things and she stormed out of the house. Then disaster struck, an Eastern European airliner crashed on the village and fireballs rained down from the sky. Elizabeth was killed in the disaster and was later found dead in a field. Her son Michael was convinced that Eric had murdered her and used the crash as a cover up. Michael later left the village as his theories were never proven. Eric was happy to set up a memorial for the plane crash but then stole the funds. When Michael left Eric was pleased that the thorn in his side had gone. He carried on his dodgy deals and later went into partnership with Kathy Tate at the wine bar, formerly the old school. He went to the Phillipines in late 1996 and returned with a young Filipino woman in tow, Dee De La Cruz. They married in 1997. In 1998 Dee got sick of Pollard's business woes and left him, leaving him suicidal. In August 1998 he threatened to burn down the wine bar and himself but was talked out of it by Marlon. When a fire ripped through the Woolpack in November that year due to fireworks going off, eric was slightly injured as he walked past and tried to dodge a stray firework and threatened to sue the council. In 2000 he forgot about his bad boy persona and started to investigate how Rachel died and suspected she died at the hands of Graham Clark. When Graham kidnapped Kathy Tate and drove her to the edge of a cliff Eric rescued her while the car was teetering on the edge. The car then rolled down the cliffedge with Graham in it. The car then burst into flames killing Graham, ending his reign of terror. For once Eric was a hero. In 2001 he met Gloria Weaver. She seemed meek and mild but underneath was power hungry. They married in 2002. She was eager for the position of Councillor and even persuaded her own husband to sleep with a councillor called Glynis so she could secure her position. When the scandal came out Gloria was later posted to Westminster where she had an affair with 2008-present In 2008, Eric met Val Lambert and they married that year. In 2009, Eric closed down his factory and took over the running of the B&B. Memorable info Birthday: 11 June 1945 Full Name: Eric Charles Pollard One of the biggest story arcs in Emmerdale history is the death of Elizabeth Pollard in the plane crash in December 1993. She wanted Eric to go to jail for framing Michael Feldmann, her son. Eric stole the incriminating documents about the Roman bracelet and when Elizabeth went to tell Frank Tate, an Eastern European airliner crashed on the village. Elizabeth died that night after injury from wreckage. Many suspected that Eric used the plane crash to cover up her murder. This resurfaced in 2003 on the 10th anniversary of the plane crash and again in 2010. In January 2011, the autopsy proved she had died from wreckage. Michael Feldmann left Eric alone. This yet again resurfaced in October 2015 when Lawrence White said he heard about Elizabeth and used it against him if he carried on giving evidence against Chrissie Sugden. Did Eric play a part in her death? Autopsy records show she died from wreckage, but did he leave her to die? We may never know the exact truth about what happened to Elizabeth on that dark December night. Over 20 years later, some people still like to remind Eric about Elizabeth. Family Spouse Eileen Pollard (1964-1994), Elizabeth Feldmann (1992-1993), Dee Pollard (1997-1999), Gloria Weaver (2002-2003), Val Pollard (2008-) Children David Metcalfe (1982) Grandchildren Amba Metcalfe Step children Michael Feldmann, Paul Lambert, Sharon Lambert Aunts 1 aunt See also *Eric Pollard - list of appearances Gallery Emmie eric first episode.png|Eric arrives in the Woolpack for the first time in September 1986. emmie pollard 1988.png|Pollard in February 1988. emmie eric feb 1988 in pubbie.png|Eric saying "Well, all stopping for the big vote?" about Home Farm auction in February 1988. Category:Emmerdale characters. Category:Current characters. Category:Characters first seen in 1986. Category:Pollard family. Category:Auctioneers. Category:Antique dealers. Category:Chefs. Category:Emmerdale businessmen. Category:Emmerdale bad boys. Category:1945 births. Category:1964 marriages. Category:1992 marriages. Category:1997 marriages. Category:2002 marriages. Category:2008 marriages. Category:Residents of The Grange B&B. Category:Residents of The Barn. Category:Villains.